Special Sessions
Special Session on Urban Geography
Sponsor: Urban Geography Study Group (USGS)
Organizer: Evan Cleave (Toronto Metropolitan University)
This session brings together the diverse field of urban research. Urban areas vary in their form, structure, morphology, land use patterns, and historical processes of evolution. But they are also driven by a series of interrelated processes of change - including economic, political, cultural, demographic, technological, environmental, social, and locally-contingent forces. The goal of this session is to present research that explores this diverse range of processes and their impact in Canada and abroad through empirical research. Any research relevant to urban geography is welcome.
We welcome submissions based on completed research projects as well as new and on-going work, by authors at all career stages. If interested, please forward your abstract to Evan Cleave (evan.cleave@torontomu.ca) and submit your abstract to the CAGONT organizing committee by Friday October, 31 2025.
Special Session on Urban Agriculture
Organizer: Kailyn Seo (University of Toronto Scarborough), Jada Hollingsworth (University of Toronto Scarborough)
Interest and expansion of urban and peri-urban agriculture is on the rise. Urban and peri-urban agriculture has the potential to increase local food production, diverse green spaces, and other ecosystems services in high-density urban regions. Municipal initiatives, such as the City of Toronto’s GrowTO action plan, have suggested policies that support this growth, aiming to safeguard food security while advancing the city’s environmental sustainability targets. Urban and peri-urban agriculture provides a suite of ecological benefits, including increased crop diversity, carbon sequestration in soils, reduced carbon emissions from land-use change, and shortened food supply chains; yet significant knowledge gaps remain. Enhancing this knowledge underpins our ability balance productivity with environmental stewardship, and its absence further constrains planning and governance efforts. Continued research and engagement are therefore essential for developing best management practices specific to urban and peri-urban and supporting their effective, context-sensitive implementation. This session welcomes presentations that center urban and peri-urban agriculture as a system of study. We also welcome presentations from both ecological and social perspectives. This session is organized by students of the “Toward Sustainable Urban and Peri-urban Agriculture for Net-zero Food Systems" - TOsustain research program, which aims to improve the management and expansion of sustainable urban and peri-urban agricultural systems, for meeting greenhouse gas emission targets and building resilient food systems in the Canadian agriculture sector.
For more information please contact Kailyn Seo (kailyn.seo@utoronto.ca).
Special Session on Urban Agriculture
Organizer: Andrea Rishworth
Sponsor: Geography of Heath and Health Care Study Group (GHHCSG)
Papers in this session will cover the full spectrum of topical and methodological approaches in health and medical geography in Canada and beyond. Papers can be conceptual or empirical, and can cover any aspect of health geography including health perceptions and experiences, health promotion and population health, environment and health, migration and health, chronic disease prevention, social determinants of health and health inequities, health and health care services, environment and ecosystem health, critical health geographies, healthy aging, urban health, global health, infectious disease modeling, GIS, historical geographies of health, and any other health-related geographical investigation. Based on contributors, sessions will be organized by theme where possible.
For more information, please contact Andrea Rishworth (andrea.rishworth@utoronto.ca).